Operation Prom: Showing kids where poor choices lead

Operation Prom is a simulation to show kids what poor choices can lead to on a night that is designed to be memorable. The event began last Thursday in the high school auditorium with a quick video that is student produced. The video shows a scene of high schoolers participating in a simulated “pre-game” of drinking and partying leading up to the high school prom. In the video, actor Nolan Osland was asked by his friends not to drive. His answer was simply, “I’ve only had two beers. I’ll be fine.” The students then made their way outside for the simulation.

At the beginning of the simulation, the cars were covered up and several students were joking around. That all changed with the deployment of a loud flash bang and the unveiling of a smashed car that hit a minivan head-on. When the sheets were removed, the audience saw student actors in the car, including Mallory Orr, who was lying on the hood as if she had been ejected from the vehicle. Emergency responders then approached the scene.

“It’s training for everybody from dispatch all the way through to the medical examiner,” said Tom Summit of the Muscatine Fire Department.

Osland was behind the wheel of a small red car, and Tim Hull was the actor driving the minivan. Hull pulled out a young girl who was “unresponsive.”

A high school student playing the victim is transferred to an ambulance after being extracted from the simulated car crash.

The realization kicked in when firefighters tagged Orr’s body and covered her with a sheet.

Officers pulled Osland out of the vehicle and administered a field sobriety test. They also arrested him as part of the exercise. Crews used the Jaws of Life to remove the passengers from the backseat.

The students then made their way to the gymnasium where first responders addressed the students

“I ask you to keep in mind how your decisions impact other people,” Summitt said.

Principal Jared Smith addressed the students at the beginning. “This is a powerful and important message. I urge you to take this to heart.”